Honestly, I have had those feelings that the woman in the dog+kid article talks about. I have one baby and it it one million times harder and more unexpected than you can imagine. I planned for this baby and now know that no amount of planning is enough. I feel huge, crushing guilt about any resentment toward my dogs, that said…we treat them the same as ever, we still play, get a kick of how they interact with our son (which is even more fun now that he crawls after them!), feed them the same quality dog food, worry about them, and appreciate their companionship. That said, I can’t say I don’t curse them (at least in my head) when it’s 3am and I stumble over one of them on the way to check on my crying baby or when they go in and lick his face when he’s napping. I don’t think I’m a terrible person for being annoyed about it or lacking clairvoyance. I just think it is what it is. I try to still be a good dog owner, I try not to take anything too seriously, and I try to just let it go when my baby is covered in dog hair…I just might complain a little more about it than I’d like.

Side note, after my son was born, every single living thing annoyed the crap out of me for a little while. So, there’s that, too.

Thanks for your honesty. I was just hoping not everyone feels like they would "drown their pets" if it meant their kid gets an extra hour of sleep. 🙂 I think your comments seem totally normal. I don’t expect to feel the same way about my dog after I have kids, but I currently love the snot outta her and hope that doesn’t do a 180.

PS as I type this, I keep yelling at my dog who keeps trying to climb on my lap… I can imagine how much more annoying that would be if I were also holding a baby.

All of the people that say you’ll have no time for/hate your dog after you have kids break my heart. Maybe I’m naive about how much time/love I’ll have, but I certainly intend to love my first baby just as fiercely when we have actually babies. I worry more so about the personality changes that I have heard about, because I can empathize with people not loving their newly anxious/aggressive dog. I hope that training and patience can get one through a lot of that. I’m also very very grateful for a dog that has seriously mellowed over the past year and a half and mostly just wants to cuddle with his people. I imagine he’ll welcome all of the cuddle time with a new family member!

Thanks for the share, Eleanor! As my fellow Broad Kate noted, we think there is room to love both dog and baby. While I don’t have kids yet, I hope to soon. I anticipate my relationship to change with everyone when that time comes. With my husband, my friends, and my dogs. I love Cindy’s honesty and can certainly share her sentiment now, without kids. My pups drive me crazy all the time…you know what, so does my husband. But damn, I still love them like crazy and cannot image my life without them. And I gotta say, I think my dogs are really helping me prepare for a baby. Just the other day (the day after I wrote about how much I loved my dogs) one of them had a horrible messy accident on my bed. MY BED! So there’s that.

OHMYGOODNESS I am so inspired by the story on Ernestine Shepherd. What a bright light and beautiful soul! I love how she is helping so many others and sharing her knowledge and accomplishments. I was injured in a car accident a year ago so I haven’t been able to exercise – especially with weights – so this gave me hope that I’ll be able to get into shape and be healthy again someday. Thanks for sharing it!